Concessionaires to fully fund new highway projects, says minister

 

Senior works minister Fadillah Yusof says the cost of new highway projects and any risks involved will have to be fully borne by the concessionaires.

PETALING JAYA: All new highway projects, including three in the Klang Valley, will not get any allocations from the government, said senior works minister Fadillah Yusof.

The costs of these projects and any risks involved would have to be fully borne by the concessionaires, he said when launching the Aidilfitri open house and annual general meeting of the Malaysian Bumiputera Contractors Association for 2021 and 2022 here yesterday.

“There will no longer be any financial assistance from the government for all new highways. No assistance (will be given) for land either. Previously, land acquisition costs for highway construction were partly borne by the government.

“Now, there are no more soft loans, all will have to be shouldered by the concession companies interested in building the highways,” he said.

Media reports have said the Petaling Jaya Traffic Dispersal Elevated Highway (PJD Link), the Putrajaya–Bangi Expressway (PBE) and the Kuala Lumpur Northern Dispersal Expressway (KL-NODE) projects have obtained approval in principle from the government.

On April 4, Fadillah said the government welcomed private companies to take over concessionaires for the purpose of restructuring to reduce the financial burden of the people and government.

Earlier, on the same day, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the government had agreed with the restructuring of four Klang Valley highway concessionaires, namely Kesas Sdn Bhd (Kesas Expressway), Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART Tunnel), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (SPRINT Expressway) and Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Damansara-Puchong Expressway or LDP). - FMT